Variable Details

Available Studies

MAP, MARS

Scaled? 

Not Scaled

Variable Type 

Longitudinal

Variable Name 

minddiet2022_sc

Categories

Nutrition

MIND diet score
Mediterranean-DASH diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet score

The Mediterranean-DASH diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet score measures participants' adherence to the MIND diet. The MIND diet is modeled after the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) diets with modifications based on findings in the diet-dementia field. For example, the MIND diet emphasizes consumption of green leafy vegetables and berries but does not score other types of fruit.

Participants' nutritional information is recorded using the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Food items on the FFQ are categorized into 10 brain healthy food groups and 5 unhealthy food groups. Each diet component is scored from 0 to 1 based on frequency of consumption of each food item portion associated with that component.

The total MIND diet score ranges from 0 to 15 and is the sum of the 15 component scores. Higher scores indicate greater diet concordance.

Dietary component servings and scores:

Dietary component00.51
Green leafy vegetables≤2 servings/weekk>2 to <7 servings/week≥7 servings/week
Other vegetables<5 servings/week≥5 to <7 servings/week≥7 servings/week
Berries*<1 serving/week≥1 to <5 servings/week≥5 servings/week
Nuts<1 serving/week≥1 to <5 servings/week≥5 servings/week
Olive oil<7 tablespoons/week≥7 to <14 tablespoons/week≥14 tablespoons/week
Butter and stick margarine≥14 pats (teaspoons)/week>7 to <14 pats/week≤7 pats/week
Regular cheese≥7 servings/week>2 to <7 servings/week≤2 servings/week
Whole grains<7 servings/week≥7 to <21 servings/week≥21 servings/week
Fish (not fried)<1 serving/month<1 serving/week≥1 serving/week
Beans & legumes<1 serving/week≥1 to <3 servings/week≥3 servings/week
Poultry (not fried, skinless)<1 serving/week≥1 to <2 servings/week≥2 servings/week
Red and processed meat products≥7 meals/week≥4 to <7 meals/week<4 meals/week
Fast and fried foods≥4 meals/week>1 to <4 meals/week≤1 meal/week
Pastries & sweets≥7 servings/week≥5 to <7 servings/week<5 servings/week
Wine<1 glass/month or ≥2 glasses/day1 glass/month to 1 glass/week2-7 glasses/week

*One serving of berries is considered as 1/2 cup considering the average intake by older adults in NHANES/WWEIA data.


Publications